As buildings age, such as single family homes, their corresponding building materials which form the respective building deteriorate over time. For example, certain insulation as well as seals around windows of a building may deteriorate over time due to exposure to harsh conditions such a ultraviolet rays from the sun as well as harsh weather conditions like rain, wind, snow, and ice.
These harsh conditions can cause these building materials to deteriorate rapidly and to lose their effectiveness as insulators and barriers against moisture and air. When these building materials lose their effectiveness, they contribute to decreased energy efficiency of a building, such as the ability of a building to maintain a constant internal temperature when the outside temperature changes.
This means that the HVAC system of such a building will need to work harder to maintain the internal temperature of the building when the building has “energy leaks” caused by the deteriorated building materials. This increase work load for the HVAC system translates into higher energy costs for the consumer in addition to placing an unnecessary additional load on utility providers, such as on electricity, gas, and oil providers.
One problem associated with energy leaks of a building is that the occupant of a building may not be able to identify the source or location of the energy leaks within the building. In a typical building, such as in a single family home, several rooms of the building may be heated or cooled by a single HVAC device, such as by a furnace or central air conditioner. While a building occupant may notice a difference in overall energy costs when energy leaks occur within a building, the building occupant may not be able to accurately identify the source of these energy leaks, especially when each room of the building may have several different potential sources that constitute the energy leaks. For example, if each room of a building has several windows and one or more external doors, it would be very challenging for the building occupant to determine which window or door may be the sole cause or larger contributor of an energy leak.
Another problem with energy leaks that may be present in a building is how they can be repaired. Often, a building occupant may not have the requisite skill or time (or both) to repair the sources of the energy leaks. Therefore, the building occupant may need to identify a contractor with adequate skill to repair the sources or building materials associated with the energy leaks.
An additional problem is that building occupants frequently do not have a baseline with which to compare the energy efficiency of their building relative to other buildings. In other words, while it is an objective for a building to be as energy efficient as possible, it is well known that a building cannot be one-hundred percent energy efficient. However, it can be challenging for a building occupant to know what is the acceptable range of less than perfect energy efficiency performance.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system which can provide useful baseline energy metrics from which a building occupant can compare their building against. There is also a need in the art for a method and system that can identify the location and specific source of energy leaks within a building. There is a further need in the art for a method and system which can help identify specific energy leaks, such as by a room or a zone. And lastly, there is a need in the art for a method and system which can help diagnose the sources of energy leaks in addition to suggesting contractors who may be able to repair the energy leaks.